(WASHINGTON, D.C., August 18, 2021) – DLR Group CEO Griff Davenport, FAIA, today announced that Washington, D.C. design firm Bowie Gridley Architects is joining the firm. BGA specializes in master planning and design for K-12 independent school clients along the Atlantic Coast and throughout the Northeast. BGA also adds experience in performing arts, museum, preservation, higher education, and hospitality design to complement and strengthen DLR Group’s expertise in these core markets.

BGA was founded by Calvert S. Bowie, AIA, and William C. Gridley, FAIA. The firm’s award-winning portfolio of work, and its focused expertise in master planning and design of K-12 independent school campuses and learning spaces, are a natural complement to DLR Group’s globally leading K-12 Education practice.

“Our profession is changing. Integrated design is the future,” said BGA’s Bowie. “By joining DLR Group we can now provide our clients with in-house engineering, interiors, high performance design, acoustics, lighting, and the full suite of design resources available within a 1,200-person design firm. Our teams now have access to a depth of design specialties and expertise that will benefit every client.”

Robert Allen, AIA, and Richard Salopek, AIA, will continue to lead the independent school design practice in Washington, D.C.

DLR Group is a 100% employee-owned firm and all BGA employees will have the opportunity to purchase stock in DLR Group during the firm’s annual stock exchange. This employee-ownership opportunity was a key factor in BGA’s decision as it provides a proven method for ownership transition to ensure the 40-year design legacy of Bowie Gridley.

“There is a natural alignment of the BGA and DLR Group cultures and values. The approach and feeling of a work family is rare today, and in that area, we are a match,” said Gridley. “This is a great opportunity for our people. They can provide our independent school clients with a full suite of integrated design services, and this gives each employee a springboard of opportunity to pursue a design, practice, or operational leadership position within a global firm.”

Signature BGA designs in the region include the Choate Rosemary Hall Student Center, Batchelder and Howe Halls at Loomis Chaffee School, King Abdullah Academy, Ballou High School, and Wakefield High School. DLR Group work in the area includes the restoration of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, restoration of Maury Elementary School, Triumph Ward 8 Housing, and the Good Hope Neighborhood Recreation Center.

BGA and DLR Group combined operations in a new Washington, D.C. location in the spring of 2022.

Contact Principal and Client Leader Richard Salopek, AIA, or Principal and K-12 Education Business Development Leader Kwame Bailey to connect with our independent schools team.